Purple Grass
by Synaid
Summary: Ten years after Endless Waltz, a new person confronts the gundam boys. But is he friend or foe?
1. Default Chapter

Purple Grass

Purple Grass

A Gundam Wing Alternate Continuation

By [Synaid@yahoo.com][1]

Version 1.1

June 6, 2001

**Author's Note:** This takes place roughly ten years after Endless Waltz and thus about eleven years after Heero and Relena first met.

Heero held the gun in front of his face, absently running his eyes over its lines. Some hacker/terrorist was attempting to drop this colony on earth. Heero had traced the hacker to the colony's control room, the bodies of the guards lying outside its doors being an obvious clue. He could hear a person furiously typing on the other side of the closed door. From the sounds, the intruder's fingers must have been flying over the keyboard. Heero narrowed his eyes, his mind working over the details. Whoever had done these guards was an expert; there was not a mark on the bodies, and no smell of gas. The guards' guns were still holstered as well; they'd never had a chance. Heero braced himself and stepped through the doorway, the large metal doors automatically swooshing open. The room was a standard control room, the brain of any colony. It had a large view port that looked out on the sea of stars just outside the glass.

"Hold it right there." Heero calmly growled out, instantly aiming his gun at the lone figures back. Whoever he was, he didn't even slow his typing. He turned his head slightly, giving Heero a view of the person's facial profile. He was wearing shades, the bug-eyed kind that wrap around the head, covering the eyes from the cheekbone to the eyebrow. His hair was black, streaked with purple die. When he smiled, Heero saw that several of his teeth were crooked. He was dress in a long black duster that hung nearly to the ground, his brown, scuffed sneakers being the only other article of clothing visible.

"About time you showed up. Heero the hero, come to save the world and life as we know it."

"I said stop."

"No, you said, 'Hold it right there.' I was paying attention."

Something about the man infuriated Heero in the same way Duo often got to him. "I want you to stop typing, now." Driving the point home, he pulled back the hammer. Hearing the click, the man stopped typing, half turning towards Heero with his hands in the air.

"Oh like I can compete with 'the perfect soldier.' Seriously though, we've got to be a step ahead of this hacker if we're going to win, and I was barely able to keep even with him as is. Get over here and start typing."

"I traced the hacker here."

"Well duh. Was the hacker going to let you trace him back to wherever he is?"

"…."

"Would you just get over here? If I was going to shoot you, you're faster on the draw, and if I'm telling the truth, you're burning time. Move your ass, soldier boy."

Heero moved to another console. "So who are we up against?"

"Not sure, but he likes using virii rather than standard hack and slash."

"Sounds like a friend of mine."

"Oh so what would this friend of yours do?"

"He'd be hiding behind a cloak. Then he'd attack with a cut deep into our defenses."

"Gotcha. Bumping up our defenses now."

Almost instantly a direct hack began on the main encryptions around the central core computer. The two continued working at it. Attack after attack was launched against the main computer, but between the two of them, Heero and the stranger held them off. The two worked so well together, that Heero began wondering if they'd met before. Each had anticipated the others moves during this cyber battle, compensating for one another and backing each other up.

"So tell me about this friend of yours. What's he like?"

"Short, brown hair, braided."

"Female?"

"No."

"Bummer. I like his style."

"Is all you think about sex?"

"No. I think about other stuff."

"Like what?"

"The self destruct that was just initiated for this control room."

"Humph." Heero kept typing. "He's locked me out. You?"

"I'm still in."

"Any ideas on how we are going to stop the hacker then?"

"_We_ aren't going to do anything. You're going to get the hell out of here, and hit the emergency ejection button for this room, letting it explode harmlessly away from the colony."

"You're going to sacrifice yourself then?"

The older man smiled over at Heero, flashing a lopsided grin with the crooked teeth. "Yeah, well, someone needs to keep the hacker at bay. With this control room destroyed, the colony's stabilization thrusters will switch to its default backups, which have remained protected. Keep those defaults safe, and the colony will be fine."

"What about the hacker?"

"I'd be more worried about who hired the hacker than the hacker's actual identity. Now get out of here and give this room the boot."

Heero looked at the other man a moment. He desperately wanted to ask this man his name, someone who was willing to give his life for the colonies. Closing his eyes, Heero turned away, and left the room, the question still on his lips. Standing outside the room, he waited as long as possible before pulling the manual release, ejecting the room into space.

As it listed in space and the self-destruct counted down, the figure inside the room pulled the dark shades from his eyes, allowing them to drop to the floor. Blinking his eyes against the lights that were now fading, he looked out at the stars. His eyes were the same that Relena had fallen in love with more than two years ago. Eyes that any of the other Gundam pilots would have recognized as belonging to Heero. He absently pulled his false crooked teeth out, allowing them to fall beside his glasses.

"Sorry I couldn't stay longer, bro. Be seeing you around."

The explosion dazzled Heero's eyes.

**Trowa's Voice: **Heero and Duo try to live out their normal lives in a world that no longer needs them. But they are interrupted by a disturbing turn of events. A new leader of the colonies has sprung up, and is demanding that Relena step down from her office. As the death count rises, Heero and Duo are forced to make a decision, which could alter the future. Next time, On Gundam Wing, Purple Grass: "A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing".

   [1]: mailto:Synaid@yahoo.com



	2. A Wolf In Sheeps Clothing

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Gundam Wing: Purple Grass

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

By [Synaid@yahoo.com][1]

Version 1.1

June 12, 2001

**Author's Note:** This is only version 1.1, so their are still some misspellings in names, etc.

**Dedicated to:** Everyone who's ever had to lay a loved one to ground.

"As I stand here before you now, I implore you to listen to my words. For they are the truth in its purest form, and thus _must_ be heard. There are those who would stop this truth from being spoken, from being heard! I beg of you, all of you within the sound of my voice, do not let these infidels silence me! Don't let them silence the truth!"

Heero sipped his coffee, absently watching the broadcast of the opening remarks of the new representative of the colonies. The new representative was a young man, charismatic and attractive, and thus winning great favor from the majority of the public. He was a religious zealot, though, and Heero had high hopes that it would be the politician's downfall. Instead, it had been used as a platform on which the election campaign had been built on.

"Relena Dorlin must be cast out of the house of our government, for it is the holiest of places, where all our morals and justices spring from in these modern times. Relena Dorlin is a threat to the peace humanity has worked so hard to achieve. She has worn more than even her brother, Milliardo Peacecraft / Zechs Marchis. She was once Relena Peacecraft, but changed her name to Dorlin so as to hide herself from the ax of justice, only reappearing as her true self when it benefited her, so that she could become Queen Relena, queen of all earth and enemy of all the colonies, which I now humbly represent. 'And those who wear the mask of misinformation and distortion shall be cast out, or the fate of the house shall be to collapse upon itself.' So reads the book of Zidane!" The politician held up a crimson leather bound book, thumping it's cover. "Relena Dorlin has also been a known consort to murders and terrorists, namely the Gundam pilots. Her own brother once attempted to annihilate all of humanity"

"This guy is so totally _bogus_!" shouted a young man from the café's entrance. Heero didn't have to turn to see who it was, the voice alone being enough to bring the other man's image to mind. It was that of a man, dressed all in black. He was wearing a matching black cap, pulled low over his eyes. A long, brown, braid swung like a cat's tail behind him. Heero closed his eyes and again sipped his coffee. The screech of a chair's legs across the tiled floor alerted him to Duo's arrival.

"You're late." Heero commented, his eyes still closed.

"Oh like you've got anything better to do." Duo sourly replied. "Besides, I have a good excuse."

"I'm listening." Heero took another sip of coffee.

There was a long pause before Duo spoke. "Sally Po and Wufei are dead."

Heero's eyes snapped open instantly. "How?" His voice was a low, cold growl.

"Some new type of nerve gas. A van pulled up outside of Sally Po's estate and then exploded. Everyone in about a mile radius was killed instantly, the lucky ones anyway." Duo watched his friend's reaction carefully. He'd been around Heero too long not to have learned Heero's little gestures that meant he was in a homicidal mood. "Noin called me at work right away. She has been named as Sally's successor." Duo looked away from Heero's eyes. "She called me to tell me what's happened… and to make me an offer." Duo turned his gaze back on Heero. "She wants me to join the Preventers as her personal advisor and left hand."

"Who is going to be her right hand?" Heero finally asked.

"Actually, she's offering that position to you."

"Me?" Heero blinked in mild surprise.

"Yeah, you." Duo stuck his tongue out. "You weren't her first choice, so don't get too big of a head. Trowa flat refused, and with Dorthy having twins on the way, you know Quatre isn't accepting."

"Are you accepting?"

"… I already have."

Heero sat in silence for a moment. He was not one to shock easily, if at all. In a period of five minutes he had learned that a man he considered a friend and a woman who in another life might have been his mother, had perished at the hands of terrorist. Now to have this dropped on him as well… It was almost too much. He had been living with Duo for the past year now, since the day Hilde had committed suicide. Heero still had his doubts about that, but had never voiced them to Duo. Coincidently, the day Hilde committed suicide was the day Milliardo had died on Mars in an accident. Heero didn't believe in coincidences. Shortly after Heero had moved in with Duo, Noin had returned from mars to pay respects to her lover's grave. Again, there was no body to go with the tombstone, but Lucrezia knew he was dead this time. At the funeral, Duo and Noin had done their best to console each other, but it was Heero who had to drive them home. Noin had spent the night at Duo's place, Heero opting to sleep on the sofa and give Noin the guest bed.

Heero could still see that night in his mind, as fresh as if it was happening before him now.

_The storm raged outside, the rain hammering at the windows and wind screaming like a mother for her child. Heero was occupying himself with folding out the couch. Noin had passed out early, from a combination of booze and grief. Duo sat across the room from Heero, neither offering help nor commenting on Heero's attempts at struggling with the century old contraption. Duo simply sat in the overstuffed armchair, a glass of some brown liquid in his hand. The melting ice shifted positions, clinking against the glass._

_"Heero, I'm going to ask her to stay here." A jagged spear of lightening lit up the sky outside the window._

_"Here?"_

_"Yeah."_

_Heero looked down at the fold out couch, not so folded out. He shoved it with one hand, disgusted as it snapped back into place, once again becoming a couch._

_"Yeah, I was thinking of turning the attic into a pool room, and moving Hilde's bed into the current pool room. I just can't sleep in that bed anymore." Duo closed his eyes, holding back the tears. "It's kinda lumpy anyway." He quipped, his voice briefly sounding normal, save the way it broke at the end._

_"Oh." Heero blinked._

_Duo laughed harshly. "What's the matter, old buddy? Thought I was either kicking you out or sentencing you to the couch for eternity?"_

_"I'll sleep with you before I sleep on this couch."_

_Duo laughed again, this time almost normally. "Do you remember the night you, me, Trowa and Quatre stayed up all night, playing cards?"_

_"Yes, I do. If I remember correctly, Wufei didn't join in because Zechs had challenged him to a drinking contest."_

_"Yeah!" Duo started giggling. "It ended with Wufei hopping on top of the table, and singing 'Hammer Time'."_

_"But then, just before he passed out, he ripped off his pants and started singing 'Dancing Queen'."_

_"Yeah!" Duo was flat out laughing at the memory. "The whole time, Zechs sat there asking if it was Halloween yet. Sally sat there taking notes!"_

_Heero allowed a slight chuckle. "And then Dorthy came in just as Wufei passed out."_

_"And Zechs jumped up and yelled, 'I remember you! You stole my teddy bear!' Dorthy's face went bright red, and she snapped back, 'Only because you took my panties and were wearing them on your head!"_

_Now both of them were laughing._

_"And then," Duo paused, laughing too hard to continue right away. "And then Hilde came in, dressed up as a cocktail waitress. And she said… and she said…" Slowly the laughing turned to sobs. "She… she… she said…"Tears began streaming down his face. "She's gone! I wasn't even here that day and she went without me. Hilde! Why couldn't you have waited for me? I was-"_

_"I don't understand." Heero interrupted._

_"I- what?" Though his red cheeks still glistened, Duo's sobbing filled rant had jerked to a stop at Heero's unexpected interruption._

_"I don't understand."_

_"What don't you understand, Heero?" Duo rubbed under his nose, sniffling._

_"Why we mourn the dead."_

_The grandfather clock began chiming midnight._

_ _

"Taking this a little hard, aren't you?" Duo snapped Heero back to the present. "Don't worry dude, you can still crash at my place."

"I wouldn't feel comfortable there. And Relena…"

"Yeah, with that pansy fiancé of hers, it'd be too… weird." Duo was quiet for a moment. "Ya know, she still has a thing for yo-"

"I'll take the job. We've got a shuttle ready for earth?"

"Yeah, we're hitching a ride with the circus shuttle. It'll be good to see Trowa again. Besides…" Duo leaned back and grinned, "It's free!"

**Trowa's Voice**: As Duo, Heero and I make our way to earth, the Representative of the Colonies announces the unthinkable and terrorist, possibly the same that murdered Sally Po and Wufei, attack our shuttle. A new MS appears and saves the day, but who's side is the pilot on? Next time on Gundam Wing: Purple Grass; "Heaven Sent"

   [1]: mailto:Synaid@yahoo.com



	3. Heaven Sent

Gundam Wing: Purple Grass, Heaven Sent

Gundam Wing: Purple Grass

"Heaven Sent"

By [Synaid@yahoo.com][1]

V. 1.1

06-19-01

**Author's Note:** Ok, this section actually turned out longer than I expected, so I cut it in two. Hope you like it.

**Dedicated to: **My cat, James. You've been the inspiration for more characters than I'd care to admit. And to John, who got me this great computer. Your skills of BS are without parallel man, but did you have to play with it first? Thanks for volunteering to be "the voice".

"The earth has asked for more time to debate on deposing their Blood Red Queen. That they have not _immediately_ thrown out such a vile traitor to peace and humanity makes it obvious to us, the colonies, that Queen Relena has cast earth under her venomous spell."

"This guy only waited two hours to announce this. He had this planned from the beginning!" Duo slammed his fist down on the armrest. Heero and Duo had quickly packed their things, what little they actually had, and arrived at the multicolored shuttle, the Bisco, to find Noin waiting for them, a simple duffle bag slung over her shoulder. Now underway, Ispep Cavalier, the new representative of the colonies, was making his second speech. Heero and Trowa observed the speech in silence as Duo and Noin openly debated it while Cavalier was still speaking. "This guy is an idiot!" Duo concluded.

"No, actually he's quite intelligent. It was a bold, if reckless move. But what he wants right now is the publics' attention."

"Attention is all well and good, but for whatever he's maneuvering towards he'll need the publics support as well."

"He already has it. He was voted into office by an overwhelming majority."

"Now has come the time, my brothers and sisters of the colonies, for us to rise up against the Queen of Evil, Relena Dorlin, and forever remove her! The earth has refused to do such, and now we must do it for them! They have cast their lot with a demon, and I herby condemn them for it. Rise up! Rise up my fellow colonist, against the cursed earth and their vile Queen! I, in the name of the colonies, by the power given to me by the colonies, and by the life given to me by the great Zidane itself, announce that the colonies suceed from the earth in all it's forms, and declare war upon it! Let all who oppose this decision, or in anyway think me wrong, speak now or forever hold their peace."

For a moment, silence reigned in the small passenger room, as each person allowed this turn of events sink in. Trowa was the first to speak.

"So Duo, who's minding the store while you're off playing?"

"Oh, I left it with Thomas."

"Good kid."

Heero simply observed the receding colony from his window. Noin stared at Duo and Trowa, who continued to talk about everything _but_ the revolt.

"What's wrong with you guys?"

"Huh? Oh, you mean the war." Duo shrugged. "Eh, there's not much we can do until the next move is made anyway."

"I wonder why nobody's broadcasting a rejection of Cavalier?" Catharine spoke up for the first time.

"He's probably killing them off. That last line was an invitation to death."

"Eh, I don't remember throwing a party..." Duo grinned at the pun.

"Looks like the party is coming to us." Heero pointed out five incoming mobile suits. They looked similar to the old space Tarsus MS, pointed head but with gleaming white paint. Their beam cannons were held at the ready.

The view screen flickered to life, again showing Cavalier's now familiar face.

"None have stepped forward to publicly denounce my decision. Therefore, I will assume I have the colonies support in this crusade to rid humanity of it's evil! I now declare the colonies a closed border. All of those leaving the colonies are obvious cowards and traitors and _must_ be put to death!"

"Umm, does this ship have any weapons?" Noin asked Catherine Bloom.

"Not really, Nothing that could compete with mobile suits anyway."

"Surrender now, and be bathed in the purifying flames of Zidane! Refuse and die, horribly!"

"What a choice. Surrender and die, fight and die." Duo shook his head. "Do you supposed it's multiple choice? There's got to be a 'none of the above,' there always is."

"So what are we going to do, Heero?" Trowa absently put an arm around Catherine's shaking shoulders.

"We die."

Outside, the five Zidane MS encircled the shuttle, bringing their beam cannons to bare. The lieutenant in charge of this particular squad, Hikaru Seki, smiled sadistically. He could see into the shuttle's cockpit where Duo Maxwell and Trowa Barton were hurriedly taking over the pilots' seats.

"All your vaunted piloting skills won't be enough to save you from Zidane's wrath." Lt. Seki watched as two more people entered the cockpit. One was obviously female, the black hair with a white streak allowing Seki to recognize her as Lucrezia Noin. The second one anybody would have recognized from a kilometer away.

"Heero Yuy. My name will go down in history for being the man who brought down the perfect soldier. I'm going to enjoy this." As Lt. Seki aimed his first shot to go directly into the cockpit, he hesitated. Heero was looking directly at him, as if the brown haired young man could see straight through the mobile suit's main camera and into Seki's cockpit. "It- it's nothing. It doesn't matter." Seki tried to push down his sudden irrational fear.

Heero casually lifted his arm up, pointing his finger directly at the snow colored MS. Dropping his thumb forward and snapping his wrist back, he imitated the motions of a gun being fired. Smiling, Yuy mouthed the words, "Bang! You're dead."

Visibly shaking, Seki reached for the MS's trigger. He never reached it. In shock, he stared down at the massive blade protruding from his chest.

"Should have kept your eyes off the prize and on the road, Seki." A face appeared on the screen that had previously held the image of Heero Yuy. White-blonde hair, the tips died blue. The eyes were purple but there were three odd yellow triangles rotating around the pupil, almost covering the iris. "You didn't even die for your God. I'm sorry."

"Damn you..." Seki coughed, covering the screen with his life blood.

"Goodbye, old friend." The gold and silver MS that had stabbed the lead Zidane MS through the back, ripped the blade out, the white MS being engulfed in it's own death flames.

As the explosion faded, the three former Gundam pilots and Noin saw the new MS clearly for the first time. While similar in design and size to the now retired and destroyed Tallgeese, the differences were too staggering to ever confuse the two. While the Tallgeese once had a Mohawk, this new MS had a golden mane of hair. Where Tallgeese had it's infamous black verneya engines, this suit had three sets of wings, totaling six in all, each matching the color of it's hair. The suit even had an overall feminine appearance. The trained eye could tell that the gun mounted on it's left arm was merely for how. The sword in it's right hand, while appearing ornamental at first, burst into flames, bathing the blade in white fire.

"Let all who think themselves worthy, test their righteousness against the power of the Seraphim! Come form me now, you worthless copies!" The four remaining Zidane MS charged the Seraphim.

Dodging the opening barrage, Seraphim flew forward with the grace of a bird. Ducking into the formation, Seraphim swiftly removed the left arm of one MS, which bore it's beam cannon. Snatching up the beam cannon, Seraphim quickly annihilated two others, the remaining one shooting the cannon right out of Seraphim's hand. Seraphim quickly flung the burning sword at the final MS, decapitating it by luck alone.

For a moment, Seraphim simply hung in space, it's sword lazily turning in end over end.

"Marix, decloack and being scavenge operation."

"Acknowledged." A squeaky voice replied. A ship, only slightly smaller than the circus's ship, rippled into view. A large hatched opened on it's underbelly, two long arms extending out. Methodically, the ship began sifting through the wreckage for salvageable parts.

"Attention unknown MS." Trowa's face appeared on the Seraphim's screens. "On behalf of the Bisco and her crew, I thank you for your assistance."

The Seraphim's pilot appeared on the Bisco's monitor. "While your thanks are welcome, I'd much prefer it if you bought the first round. Besides..." A flashing light alerted the pilot to the completion of the scavenging. "I've got two only slightly damaged MS that I'm sure the new head of the Preventers is just _dieing_ to get her hands on. You're welcome to come aboard."

"Forgive our hesitation." Noin's face replaced Trowa's, "But you seem pretty well informed... and too well armed for our comfort."

"You've got Heero the hero, what could you possibly be afraid of?" there was a slight edge to the pilot's voice. "The invitation stands. you have ten minutes to accept before I decide to move on. Seraphim, out."

"It could be a trap." Duo suggested.

"No, I don't think so." Noin looked out of the cockpit, watching the Seraphim enter the Marix through an entirely new opening in it's side. "that MS is powerful enough alone to take out this ship if he wanted to kill us. If he wanted to take us alive, his ship is more than capable enough to do the job."

Heero's harsh laughter brought the other three around. "He's holding all the cards. He has the power and the information. He's demonstrated both to us, and now is offering to share it with us."

"I'm just wondering what the price is going to be." Duo scratched the back of his neck.

"I'm more curious about his mobile suit than I am the new ones." Trowa quietly chimed in. "There was something odd about it."

"Let's hear what he has to say, even if it is on his terms." Noin looked to Duo, who stood from the pilot's chair and flipped his braid over his shoulder.

"Man, I know I'm going to regret this."

Five minutes later, four figures in space suits made the jump across the abyss of space to the black ship, the same hatch that had swallowed Seraphim waiting open for them. As soon as all four were in the MS hangar, the outer doors swooshed shut, air rushing in to feel the void. Once the light above the door blinked green, the four friends began removing their helmets. A sudden sound of clapping made them all jerk towards the silent form of the Seraphim, it's cockpit setting open. The blue tipped - silver haired pilot sat on the door to the cockpit, his legs dangling over the edge.

"Lucrezia Noin, former OZ soldier and now head of the Preventers. Duo Maxwell, former pilot of Gundam 02, the Deathscythe in all it's incarnations, now Noin's 'left hand' in the Preventers. Trowa Barton, former pilot of Gundam 03, Heavyarms. And Heero Yuy, former pilot of Gundams Zero and 01, one of only three men ever to master the ZERO System, and former love of 'Queen' Relena. Took you long enough to get here."

"You know us, but we don't know who you are. Care to grace us with your name and occupation?" Noin's left eyebrow twitched, this guy knew too much.

"Yeah, buddy. Just who the hell are you?" Duo demanded.

"Me? I'm just a concerned citizen of humanity." the pilot laughed and pushed off in the zero gravity, landing smoothly by the door. "My name is James Hittori. Step into my parlor."

"Said the spider to the fly." Duo mutter under his breath.

The small group was surprised by the slight gravity when they stepped through the hanger doorway and into the ships main hallway that connected all the rooms on the ship. While it wasn't earth gravity, it was close.

"Come along now. Marix tells me that both Zidane pilots survived the battle, but he didn't tell me how _alive_ they are."

"Yes, we noted a decompression from one of the mobile suits' cockpits." Noin matched Hittori step for step.

"I was being a little heavy handed with the sword today." Hittori shrugged. He suddenly turned left, the door swooshing out of his way. The room they entered was huge. Duo absently wondered if it was large enough to hold the now defunct Magna Corps. Two massive mechanical arms were folded up against a wall. In the center of the room the two surviving Zidane MS stood, facing each other. Between them a raven haired woman sat, her peach colored uniform stained with red blood, though not her own. The source of the blood was an identical woman, her head cradled in the first woman's lap.

Hittori's fast pace turned into a sprint, Trowa and Noin hot on his heels. Duo was about follow suit, but Heero grabbed his arm, holding Duo back while shaking his head.

Hittori skidded to a stop, Trowa's foot stopping inches from Hittori's. The uninjured woman blankly looked up at the three newcomers. Noin dropped to her knees, quickly checking the second woman's pulse.

"She's not breathing, but there's a weak pulse." Noin announced. She reached for the bloody top, pulling it back. She gasped as the light first glinted off the chunk of metal buried in the woman's chest. Noin gingerly ran her fingers across it's jagged edge. "Left lounge's collapsed. Probably the right one too. Do you have a medical bay?" The last was directed at Hittori.

"It's small but well stocked. I'll take her legs." As Noin carefully lifted the injured woman, Hittori turned to Trowa. "Take this other one to the rec room, there's a fresh pot of coffee in there. She's going to need it as soon as the drugs start to wear off." By this point, Noin and Hittori had lifted the woman up and were toting her out of the cargo bay.

"Where's the rec room?" Trowa called out.

"Ask Marix!" Hittori responded, just before the doors' smoothly shut behind him.

Duo and Heero's footsteps echoed in the empty room.

"An odd fellow." Trowa commented.

"Tell me about it." Duo rolled his eyes. "First he tries to kill them, than he tries to save them. Talk about unpredictable."

"No, everything he's done has been as I expected." Heero's voice, while low and quiet, grabbed both the other pilot's attention. "His whole deal has been to get information. That injured girl is no good to him dead, but could be invaluable alive."

"Just like us." Trowa closed his eyes and smiled. "Hittori's moves have been perfect, so I have no doubt as to what his next move will be."

"Care to clue the rest of the class in, Mr. Barton?" Duo sarcastically asked, crossing his arms across his muscled chest.

"Hmmm... I'd rather let things play out." Trowa gently caught the elbow of the woman. "Come on, let's go. I'm told there's a pot of black coffee with your name on it."

"Man, I don't know which one of them is stranger." Duo turned back to the captured mobile suits once Trowa was gone.

"He's simply scared and unsure. Scared of missing the future, but unsure of what part to play to get into it."

"And Hittori?"

"He already has his part chosen, and he's already memorized the lines."

"On, now isn't that just poetic."

"You shouldn't talk, Duo. We've both been handed our parts. Hittori is making his part, and Trowa would rather choose his own." Heero looked up at the silent mobile suit. The main camera was closed. The scorch marks almost made it appear to be crying.

"Yeah, well, play whatever part you want, Heero." Duo turned and walked away, waving over his shoulder. "I'm just gonna be myself and see how things turn out. Think I'll go find that pot of coffee, it's been a rough day."

Heero watched his friend leave. Turning back to the mobile suit, he again thought of it as crying.

"Everyone's chosen their roles, Relena, and the stage is set. We're all waiting on you, so what role will you play?"

Next episode:

> Quatre's voice: The mysterious new MS pilot, Hittori, shares what he knows with the former Gundam pilots. The Marix, Hittori's ship, quickly makes the transit from the colonies to the Skyhook, a huge tower built on earth that reaches all the way into space. At the Skyhook, an old friend awaits, with some distressing information. Next time, on Gundam Wing: Purple Grass; "Babel"

   [1]: mailto:Synaid@yahoo.com



	4. Babel

Bable

Gundam Wing: Purple Grass

Babel

By [Synaid@yahoo.com][1]

V. 1.1

06/24/01

**Author's note:** Babel is just a tentative title. I'll probably change it unless I get lazy. And yes, there's a reason I cut the explanation so short. It's because I'm going to explain it in detail at a later point, and I didn't want to bore you twice.

It was several hours later when Hittori and Noin entered the rec room. Duo noticed that Noin had changed her clothes, liking the way her dress accented her natural lines. Duo's eyes hardened momentarily when he saw Hittori's eyes on Noin.

"What's with the new threads?" Duo asked, trying to keep his voice even. Heero cast a side long glance at him.

"Oh, the girl kind of bled on my traveling clothes. Hittori was kind enough to loan me this dress.

"Oh keep it." Hittori absently waved his hand. "It looks better on you anyway."

For a moment everyone in the room just stared at him. The silence was broken by Trowa's disturbing laugh.

"Finally! Someone who gets my jokes." Hittori flopped down in a chair, gesturing to the rest to set around the table his chair was at. "Let's play the information sharing game. You ask, I'll answer. Who's first?"

"How do you know about us? Who are you?" Duo demanded. Heero placed his hand on Duo's shoulder, forcing him back into his chair while the rest took their spots.

"Tell us about the new mobile suits. I'm assuming you've encountered them before."

"Well, I'm no expert on mobile suits-" Duo interrupted Hittori with a snort, though Hittori continued smoothly, "But I'll tell you what I know. Marix, bring up the Zidane MS." A television screen behind Hittori lit up. On it a three dimensional cutaway image of the new MS was displayed. "As you can see, while it's outward appearance is like the old space Taurus, it's actually based off of the Serpent suits. But it's build in strategy engine is the key to it's power. Along with an actual human pilot is an advanced version of the mobile doll system built into each suit. This system has no actual control over the mobile suit. The mobile doll system even has a separate power pack.

"So how does the system work then?" Noin asked.

"Actually, it's a pretty simple system, amazing someone hadn't thought of it before. As I'm sure you've noticed about my eyes and our comatose _guest_ here, our eyes are different from yours.

"Yes," Trowa steepled his fingers in front of him., elbows resting on the table. "you have three yellow triangles, while she has three green circles."

"I think they might be octagons." Duo had gotten almost nose to nose with the girl, their breath intermingling. Noin's left eye twitched as she absently tugged on her one white lock of hair. Heero glanced between the two before speaking up.

"I assume they relay what you see to the system."

"Yep. Mine are just contacts, but hers might not be."

"What do you mean?" Noin asked.

"These two enemy pilots are identical."

"Yeah, so?" Duo absently stretched. "Twins aren't all that odd."

"The other two I killed also looked like this one."

"Quadruplets?"

"Not hardly." Hittori sighed. "Cloning was perfected a while back, but the technology was never really applicable in war because it would take years before the benefits could be reaped. Genetic engineering has to be done before birth, so again it takes years. Even then, it's expensive to the point that all you've really done is create a high priced assassin, a 'perfect soldier'." Hittori's eyes bored into Heero's impassive face.

"But it was only expensive at any particular point in the chain." Trowa rubbed his chin. "If one were to control the whole process, manufacturing doctors, donors, etc., it would be relatively inexpensive."

"That's true." Noin looked down the table at the girl. "But it would still take years to have fully matured results."

"True, true." Hittori nodded. "But a process by which a human being can be safely, artificially aged was stumbled across. Ms. Noin, you were actually the person who discovered this technology."

"I- what?"

"That white lock of hair is a nice accent to your face, but answer me this. Is it normal for people in your family to gray in their mid-thirties?"

"No. No it isn't." Noin frowned, narrowing her eyes. Then understanding dawned on her features. "The old Aries power coils."

"Exactly. They were retired because of an odd radiation they emitted. You had your own personal Aries, didn't you?"

"Yes I did. But after one of my annual physicals, they ordered me to change it, citing medical concerns."

"Bet they never cited the fact that you were prematurely aging."

"God..." Noin leaned back in her chair, a dazed look on her face. "Years of my life..."

"Moving on." Hittori callously ended the silence. "I'm never going to be able to accurately describe what the Zidane MS' can do. What really needs to be done is this; we repair the least damaged suit with parts from the other, then you guys take it for a spin on our way to the Skyhook."

Heero folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes, leaning his head forward. "I've already completed the repairs."

"You what?" Hittori looked started for the first time. "How? When?"

"The how was with Marix's help, the when is while you were playing doctor."

"Heh." Hittori shook his head. "Should have expected such from a super human like you. So who's going to be the first to test drive our new toy?"

"I went all over that thing, I know what it can do." Heero's eyes opened, staring directly at Trowa. "Why don't you take it for a spin first." It wasn't a question.

"Sure, why not?"

Heero slid a small purple box across the table to Trowa. Opening it, Trowa found two contact lenses soaking in solution. Three purple triangles, nearly identical to Hittori's yellow ones, marked each of the lenses.

"I found them in the cockpit, probably a spare set. You still have the headset you pulled off the girl?"

"Of course."

We'll watch you from the observation deck." Hittori stood up, Heero and Trowa following suit.

"Umm, you guys go ahead without me." Duo absently chewed on his thumbnail. Trowa and Hittori looked to Heero. Heero nodded and the three left.

After a few moments of silence, Noin stood up and walked over to a window that looked out on space.

"Living in the colonies, we're surrounded by stars, so I never really stopped to look at them. It's a beautiful sight though, isn't it?"

"Yes it is." Duo didn't mean the stars. That dress really did fit Noin well.

"I can't stop thinking about him, Duo. Milliarodo's been dead for so long now and I still think about him."

"Tell me about..." Duo hesitated and Noin turned to him. "Tell me about the day he died." Noin turned away from him again. For a moment, Noin just stood their, her head hanging forward and a lost look in her eyes. Then she felt an arm across her shoulders. Snapping her head up, she could see Duo's reflection in the glass. He had grown to be a good six inches taller than her as he matured, but it had never hit her till now how much taller he really was. "It's ok, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No, I need to. I've got to tell someone." Noin sighed and took a deep breath. "We were working on a system where we could melt the ice burried deep inside of mars, to give it an atmosphere. With rain, we could easily grow plants that'd make oxygen. But to get all that steam from under the surface we had to drill huge holes through the crust of the planet. Milliardo was helping with the dig when there was an earth quake. It was a stable area, not supposed to be any earthquakes, but it happened. Milliardo was buried under two kilometers of solid rock. We might have been able to get to him while the rock was still lose, but these religious protestors rushed the site. They were saying that it was 'against God's will' that we were trying to colonize mars, and that the earthquake was a sign from God."

"Religious protestors on mars?" Duo suddenly turned Noin around to face him. "Did they really say 'God' or did they say another name? Are you sure they said God?"

"Actually, thinking back on it, they said something like Zeos or Zanth."

"Could it have been Zidane?"

"Oh dear God..."

Trowa slid into the command chair like it was made for him. He let a slight chuckle escape his lips, left over from his initial laugh at seeing the new color scheme Heero had given the MS. Tomato red, street rod purple and a yellow lighting bolt running down each side.

"Odd console configurations." Trowa frowned.

_Yes, the standard pilot for this type of MS is left handed. You will have to adapt._ A neutral sounding, feminine voice spoke inside his mind.

"How... how do you-"

_Communicate in this way? I use the same system to relay data as the old ZERO system used. While my system is not nearly as advanced, I will have to do._

"You know, you sound kind of like Dorothy Catalonia."

_That is understandable as my original designs and prototypes were taken from what remained of the mobile dolls in the final battle of AC 195. Since the ZERO system was being used to control the MD, and Dorothy Catalonia was plugged into the ZERO system, it is understandable if not logical that I would have attributes of all three._

"All three?" Trowa shifted from mild surprise to mild amusement.

_Yes, the mobile dolls, the ZERO system and Dorothy Catalonia. Shall we go now? I am eager to test my new upgrades._

New upgrades? Trowa wondered to himself. Shrugging it off, he reached for the ignition, hesitating for a moment when he realized he wasn't sure where it was. Instantly an image of the ignition switch and it's location came to mind. He puched it, starting up the the MS's systems. "You did that, didn't you?"

_Show you where the ignition is? Yes. It is how I would normally work, conveying images to the pilot, who may choose to use or ignore those suggestions._

"So it's not normal for you to talk to me?"

_No, it is not. My ability to speak was an upgrade by Engineer Heero Yuy._

"_Engineer_ Heero Yuy, eh? So why are you using the upgrade?"

_I am utilizing my newly installed upgrade because I was curious as to how well it would operate._

"You're 'eager' to test your new systems. You're 'curious' about how well they'll work. You refer to yourself in first person. I take it these are all new?"

_Yes. And now I am very **EAGER** to sate the **CURIOSITY** that **I** have. So could we please go?_

"Who am I to deny a Goddess like you?"

_That's Ms. Goddess to you, buddy._

I'm going to enjoy this. Trowa thought to himself.

How to fly the MS, even which ways to maneuver and how much thrust to give came in shortly to his mind. The blanks Marix was firing gave Trowa an exceptional chance to familiarize himself with the system. Within a few minutes Trowa had pretty much mastered the suit. The Mobile Doll system, though Trowa now just thought of it as 'her,' sensed this and stopped sending operational images.

"Shall we really test this suit out, Ms. Goddess?" Trowa allowed a slight hint of sarcasm to creep into his voice, along with the challenge that coated the surface.

_Here and I thought you were going to play "dodge the flashing light thingy" all day._ There was a light laugh in Trowa's mind, way too much like Dorothy's for Trowa's liking. _Yes, let us see how much it can handle._

The MS dived straight for the Marix.

  
"Something about watching a Mobile Suit fight a stationary object in space always reminded me of a fly buzzing around a person's head while they try to swat it." Hittori watched Trowa from the observation deck with a thus far silent Heero. "Well, Trowa seems to be enjoying himself at least."

"He should. I altered the MD system slightly."

"Altered it? Punk. We're trying to give him an accurate view of how a normal Zidane MS will work, not your supped up version of it." Hittori glared at Heero, who shrugged and turned back to Trowa's dance. Hittori sighed. "So what did you do to his MS anyway?"

"'His' mobile suit?"

"Any weapons like this are banned on earth, unless they belong to the Preventers. With Noin knowing I have them, she'd confiscate them anyway."

"But if you give them away first, you look better."

"Yeah, pretty much. So what did you do to his MS?"

"I took the MD system out of the other suit and hard wired it to the one in his. With both systems working, it greatly expanded it's abilities. Seems it had some preinstalled subroutines that activated once it's available memory and processors had been expanded."

"Yeah, the programmer must have been a genius."

"Marix told me the Seraphim had a triple system."

"Yeah and I stripped the base personality from it, allowing it to create it's own. Odd backup to put in, isn't it? The base personality grates on my nerves anyway."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"I'll be sure to let Dorothy know that the next time I see her."

"Dorothy Catalonia?" Hittori's face went a little pale. "Doesn't even act like her anyway, just sounds like her. Wonder why that is..."

"It's Dorothy Winner, now."

"That's right, I remember reading about it. He proposed to her on the day she was elected to Earth's senate. I met her once. She was very... vigorous."

"She's mellowed a bit since she married Quatre." An uneasy silence followed. The two had been talking about everything but what was on their minds. "How'd you get the scar on your hand?"

"Well, you know those coils on the bottom of an oven? The ones that get hot?"

"Yeah."

"Did you know they had those on the top of the oven too?"

Heero looked directly at Hittori for maybe the third time ever. "You're kidding."

"Nope."

Heero let a light chuckle escape his lips. "So what's on your mind?"

"I'm thinking about how this war could have been avoided."

"Thinking of what would, could or should have happened is a waste of time and energy."

"True, true." Hittori nodded. "But you see, I keep coming back to this one point in history where none of this would have happened."

"Oh?"

"Yes. You see, a great hero was approached and asked to run in an election. Had he won, which was guaranteed given his war hero status, it would have been him who was the representative of the colonies instead of Cavalier. What's worse is that he wouldn't have been just some blood soaked war hero with no heart or brains. Because, you see, he has a strong heart, one that could sympathize with the people of space."

"Sounds like a dream to me." Heero retorted. They hadn't looked at each other for a while, both of them watching Trowa, but now Hittori turned to Heero, his fingers flexing. The yellow triangles on his eyes spun so fast they seemed to glow.

"Why didn't you take the job, Heero?"

"I was busy." Heero barely glanced at Hittori.

"Thousands, potentially millions of people are about to die because you were busy?!?"

"The new version of Final Fantasy came out."

"Why you little... ARGH!" For a moment Hittori looked ready to strangle Heero. Blood started dripping down from his left nostril. And then, all his anger was gone, drained away with the blood that Hittori wiped from his top lip. "You've been around Duo too long."

"Perhaps."

"I'm done with the test." Trowa's voice crackled over the communication link.

"Yeah, do you not have anything harder? I am bored!" the MD system piped up.

"You just had to upgrade it so it could talk, didn't you?" Hittori glared at Heero.

"Seemed like the thing to do."

"Hey guys!" Duo bounded into the room, his arm still around Noin's shoulder. "Guess what we just figured out!"

"Looks like our new test just walked through the door, Trowa. Give us a few minutes to set everything up."

_Apparently their test is to see how long they can make us float here in space._

"Stay calm. All good things come to those who wait."

_Bite me, amnesia boy!_

"If you two are done," Hittori's face popped up on the MS's monitor, "your new test is ready. Brace yourselves, it should really push you to the limit."

The hangar bay doors opened, emitting the smoothly designed Seraphim. Being able to focus on it now, Trowa noted that each feather on the six wings had a tiny maneuvering thruster.

"So that's what makes it so agile."

_Yes, the Seraphim's physical abilities far exceed my own. But I am still cuter._

"You haven't seen Heero's new paint job have you?"

_SOMEONE PAINTED ME?!? Quick! What do I look like? Somebody's gonna pay for this!_

"Incoming." Trowa smoothly pulled the MS's beam saber, igniting it just in time to deflect the Seraphim's opening stab. The next few moves were an intricate dance between the Seraphim and Trowa. "This is Duo, it has to be. The fighting style is his. He's going to hack straight at me now and I'll-" Trowa lifted the beam saber over his head to block the expected overhand chop. Instead, he found the Seraphim's blade tip almost touching the door to his cockpit. Noin's face behind a spacesuit's glass plate appeared.

"Gotcha."

In the rec room, the loan figure of the defeated female MS pilot shakily got to her feet. She then did something she had never done before in her thus far short life. She spoke.

"I... lost."

Noin closed the connection to Trowa's MS and leaned back in her chair. She lifted her shaking hands to her face and dropped them again.

"God, it's getting worse. I'm losing control." Noin had watched her own grandmother slowly degenerate from this new strain of Parkinson's disease, and had been fearful of the day she would succumb to it too. She knew the symptoms, the doctors had repeated them often enough. First twitches, either voluntary or involuntary, even if twitching wasn't something you normally did. Than other odd behaviors, like chewing the inside of the cheek, or grinding her teeth in her sleep. But most of those would go unnoticed except by those who knew her best. Duo had once pointed out her eye twitch when she was angry, that it seemed out of character. She'd dismissed it at the time, but now... The final symptoms had started in. Shaking hands eventually she'd lose all muscle control. Her muscles would then stiffen and weaken, her face locked in a mask-like expression. She could still hear the last doctors words echoing in her mind. He'd just shrugged and turned away.

_"There isn't a cure. Hell, we're not even really sure what causes the loss of certain chemicals in the brain."_

"Maybe... maybe I should talk to Quatre." Noin sighed and lifted her hands up again. Oddly, the shaking had stopped. It could have been her imagination but the blue veins that had begun to stand out on her hands seemed to have receded a little as well. "Just wishful thinking, gotta be." Despite her words she continued to stare at her right hand, using her left to pilot Seraphim in.

As soon as the doors were shut she popped her helmet off. The hatch opened, revealing Duo floating upside down.

"Hey good lookin', fancy meeting you here."

Hittori stared out of the glass like material that served as the ships "windshield." Trowa sat beside him, observing the mysterious MS pilot. He'd been watching Hittori for a little over six hours now while they waited for clearance to dock at earth's great Skyhook. In that entire time, Hittori had not blinked once. All color had drained from his face, leaving him looking like some ghastly corpse taken fresh from a morgue and propped up in a pilots chair. A joke that someone was not going to find funny. Trowa considered himself to be a bit antisocial, but it was nothing compared to the waves coming off of Hittori. It was an almost tangible field around him that tried to repulse any and all life. Heero had left earlier. Even he looked unnerved.

"The Skyhook's amazing isn't it?" Trowa tried to start a conversation. "Every major computer network in the world is wired through it, almost all physical transportation, either from one country to another or from space to earth and back again goes through it. Think about it. A tower built so high, it's top is outside the atmosphere."

"Sounds like the tower of Babel to me." Hittori's words were garbled, only coming from the left side of his mouth. Looking like he was about to pull his eye out, he took out the contact lenses that hid their color. Trowa couldn't get a good look at his eyes.

"Interplanetary shuttle Marix, you are clear to land on pad 42. Welcome home, Hittori!" A sweet sounding woman with red hair appeared on a screen. "Now that you're back, I was wondering if you'd like too..."

Hittori's eyes had slowly twisted in their sockets. Trowa could have sword he heard the sound of something grating on concrete.

"Oh... Oh God!" The woman's breathing started to come in jerky burst. "James, it's happening again. How long has it been since you took your medication? I'm going to call Doctor Win-"

"No doctors." Hittori intoned, then smoothly cut off the communication link... by smashing his fist through it's panel. As Hittori closed his eyes, Trowa again thought he heard a sound, like sandpaper on glass. Hittori blindly opened a drawer and pulled out a pair of strawberry colored glasses, sliding them up his nose. Turning to Trowa, his smile and ambient air had returned.

"Your nose is bleeding." Trowa smoothly hid his unsettled feelings.

"Oh damn." Hittori pulled an expensive looking handkerchief from his back pocket and quickly wiped the blood away. "Did I get it all?"

"Got all of what?" Duo stuck his head through the door. "Hey man, nice shades!"

"Thanks, thanks. We just got clearance to land. Marix knows the way so we can wait by the main hatch."

"About time, let's go!" Duo walked out of the room with Hittori. Trowa paused in the doorway, looking back at the smashed console.

"He didn't hurt his hand."

A woman with a long brown pony tail that might have rivaled Duo's, tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for the air in and outside the shuttle to equalize. As soon as it had, the hatch on the black shuttle popped open.

"Lucrezia Noin, Duo Maxwell, Heero Yuy, Trowa Barton and James Hittori. I would like you to follow me now. We have a special tram waiting to take you to the meeting hall."

"Well hello to you too, Lady Une." Duo was the first to step out, wrapping her in a warm hug that she quickly returned. Trowa and Heero were the next out, Une nodding to both. When Noin stepped out, Une caught her hand in a friendly clasp. Lady Une turned away from Hittori as he stumbled down the walk way, not used to earth's gravity yet. Oddly, Hittori refused to look at her as well.

"Where's Mariemaia?" Trowa asked, glancing around.

"Your niece is with Relena, arguing in the meeting hall."

"Arguing?" Noin frowned and tagged on her white lock of hair.

"Yes. During your trip, the president resigned. The senate is calling for one three women to take his place. Relena, Mariemaia, and you."

   [1]: mailto:Synaid@yahoo.com



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